Why do some people lead happy, successful lives whilst others face repeated failure and sadness? Why do some find their perfect partners whilst others stagger from one broken relationship to the next? What enables some people to have successful careers whilst others find themselves trapped in jobs they detest? And can unlucky people do anything to improve their luck - and lives?

5 out of 5 stars

Mostly common sense, but worth every penny

By
Competition Rider
on
12-09-16

The As If Principle

The Radically New Approach to Changing Your Life

By:
Richard Wiseman

Narrated by:
Ralph Lister

Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
99

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
86

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
85

Victorian philosopher William James had a theory about emotion and behavior: It isn’t that our feelings guide our actions (feel happy and you will laugh). On the contrary, it is our actions that guide our emotions (laugh and you will feel happy). This led James to a remarkable conclusion: "If you want a quality, act as if you already have it." Roused by James’s astonishing discovery, renowned psychologist and best-selling author Richard Wiseman confirms James’s principle and shows how the self-help genre has for too long put the cart before the horse in trying to help us take control of our lives.

3 out of 5 stars

great concept; too many studies, not enough....

By
Kris R. Keeney Digitalaw
on
11-13-14

Unscripted

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship

By:
MJ DeMarco

Narrated by:
Scott Thomas

Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
2,196

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
1,977

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,967

You live in your dream house, but there's no mortgage. No alarm clock, no boss, no bills. No claims on the day's time other than what you choose. It is making more money before breakfast than you made for an entire week at your last job. It is a crazy expensive car parked in your garage, a victorious symbol that your dreams no longer sleep in fantasies, but are awake with reality.

5 out of 5 stars

Top 5 Entrepreneurship of all time!

By
Kevin
on
11-27-18

The ONE Thing

The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

By:
Gary Keller,
Jay Papasan

Narrated by:
Timothy Miller,
Claire Hamilton

Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
14,654

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
12,562

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
12,464

This is an audiobook for busy people. If you want less on your plate and more for your life and career, tune in to the #1
Wall Street Journal best seller,
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results. The ONE Thing will bring your life and your work into focus. Authors Gary Keller and Jay Papasan teach you the tricks to cut through the clutter, achieve better results in less time, dial down stress, and master what matters to you.

5 out of 5 stars

Really Helpful Book!

By
Marisela Gutierrez
on
04-01-17

Night School

Wake Up to the Power of Sleep

By:
Richard Wiseman

Narrated by:
Peter Noble

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
129

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
112

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
112

Almost a third of your whole life is spent asleep.
Night School uncovers the scientific truth about the sleeping brain - and gives powerful tips on how those hours of apparently ‘dead’ time in the dark can transform your waking life.

5 out of 5 stars

One half of a very good book

By
Julia
on
04-03-14

Not Everyone Gets a Trophy

How to Manage the Millennials, Revised and Updated

By:
Bruce Tulgan

Narrated by:
Tim Andres Pabon

Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
36

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
25

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
25

Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: How to Manage the Millennials provides employers with a workable game plan for turning millennials into the stellar workforce they have the potential to be. The culmination of over two decades of research, this book provides employers with a practical framework for engaging, developing, and retaining the new generation of employees.

The Luck Factor

The Scientific Study of the Lucky Mind

By:
Richard Wiseman

Narrated by:
Peter Noble

Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
152

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
125

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
125

Why do some people lead happy, successful lives whilst others face repeated failure and sadness? Why do some find their perfect partners whilst others stagger from one broken relationship to the next? What enables some people to have successful careers whilst others find themselves trapped in jobs they detest? And can unlucky people do anything to improve their luck - and lives?

5 out of 5 stars

Mostly common sense, but worth every penny

By
Competition Rider
on
12-09-16

The As If Principle

The Radically New Approach to Changing Your Life

By:
Richard Wiseman

Narrated by:
Ralph Lister

Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
99

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
86

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
85

Victorian philosopher William James had a theory about emotion and behavior: It isn’t that our feelings guide our actions (feel happy and you will laugh). On the contrary, it is our actions that guide our emotions (laugh and you will feel happy). This led James to a remarkable conclusion: "If you want a quality, act as if you already have it." Roused by James’s astonishing discovery, renowned psychologist and best-selling author Richard Wiseman confirms James’s principle and shows how the self-help genre has for too long put the cart before the horse in trying to help us take control of our lives.

3 out of 5 stars

great concept; too many studies, not enough....

By
Kris R. Keeney Digitalaw
on
11-13-14

Unscripted

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship

By:
MJ DeMarco

Narrated by:
Scott Thomas

Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
2,196

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
1,977

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,967

You live in your dream house, but there's no mortgage. No alarm clock, no boss, no bills. No claims on the day's time other than what you choose. It is making more money before breakfast than you made for an entire week at your last job. It is a crazy expensive car parked in your garage, a victorious symbol that your dreams no longer sleep in fantasies, but are awake with reality.

5 out of 5 stars

Top 5 Entrepreneurship of all time!

By
Kevin
on
11-27-18

The ONE Thing

The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

By:
Gary Keller,
Jay Papasan

Narrated by:
Timothy Miller,
Claire Hamilton

Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
14,654

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
12,562

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
12,464

This is an audiobook for busy people. If you want less on your plate and more for your life and career, tune in to the #1
Wall Street Journal best seller,
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results. The ONE Thing will bring your life and your work into focus. Authors Gary Keller and Jay Papasan teach you the tricks to cut through the clutter, achieve better results in less time, dial down stress, and master what matters to you.

5 out of 5 stars

Really Helpful Book!

By
Marisela Gutierrez
on
04-01-17

Night School

Wake Up to the Power of Sleep

By:
Richard Wiseman

Narrated by:
Peter Noble

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
129

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
112

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
112

Almost a third of your whole life is spent asleep.
Night School uncovers the scientific truth about the sleeping brain - and gives powerful tips on how those hours of apparently ‘dead’ time in the dark can transform your waking life.

5 out of 5 stars

One half of a very good book

By
Julia
on
04-03-14

Not Everyone Gets a Trophy

How to Manage the Millennials, Revised and Updated

By:
Bruce Tulgan

Narrated by:
Tim Andres Pabon

Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
36

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
25

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
25

Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: How to Manage the Millennials provides employers with a workable game plan for turning millennials into the stellar workforce they have the potential to be. The culmination of over two decades of research, this book provides employers with a practical framework for engaging, developing, and retaining the new generation of employees.

Paranormality

The Science of the Supernatural

By:
Richard Wiseman

Narrated by:
Peter Noble

Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
42

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
39

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
39

Professor Richard Wiseman is clear about one thing: paranormal phenomena don't exist. But in the same way that the science of space travel transforms our everyday lives, so research into telepathy, fortune-telling and out of body experiences produces remarkable insights into our brains, behaviour and beliefs.

5 out of 5 stars

great insight into what one believes is paranormal

By
Ony
on
07-10-16

Tribe of Mentors

Short Life Advice from the Best in the World

By:
Tim Ferriss

Narrated by:
Kaleo Griffith,
Ray Porter,
Tim Ferriss,
and others

Length: 18 hrs and 43 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
5

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
3

Story

5 out of 5 stars
3

Tim Ferriss, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of The 4-Hour Workweek, shares the ultimate choose-your-own-adventure book - a compilation of tools, tactics, and habits from 130+ of the world's top performers. From iconic entrepreneurs to elite athletes, from artists to billionaire investors, their short profiles can help you answer life's most challenging questions, achieve extraordinary results, and transform your life.

Addicted to the Monkey Mind

Change the Programming That Sabotages Your Life

By:
J.F. Benoist

Narrated by:
Sara Morsey

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
5

Performance

3.5 out of 5 stars
5

Story

4 out of 5 stars
5

Free yourself from the negative mind-set that overwhelms you. Addicted to the Monkey Mind offers a toolbox of practical skills to shift self-sabotaging, programmed ways of thinking and learn actionable steps. J.F. Benoist - a visionary thought leader in the fields of addiction treatment and personal development - uses the journeys of two relatable characters to teach you how to develop a powerful new mind-set and finally break the cycle of debilitating habits.

1 out of 5 stars

Painfully Bad, Mostly stories. Not Helpful.

By
Anonymous User
on
05-28-20

The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime

By:
MJ DeMarco

Narrated by:
MJ DeMarco

Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
4,943

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
4,371

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
4,360

Since you were old enough to hold a job, you've been hoodwinked to believe that wealth can be created by blindly trusting in the uncontrollable and unpredictable markets: the housing market, the stock market, and the job market. I call this soul-sucking, dream-stealing dogma "The Slowlane" - an impotent financial gamble that dubiously promises wealth in a wheelchair. For those who don't want a lifetime subscription to "settle-for-less", there is an alternative.

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

By
Iray007
on
09-22-15

Quirkology

The Curious Science of Everyday Lives

By:
Richard Wiseman

Narrated by:
Peter Noble

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
53

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
48

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
47

For over 20 years, psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman has examined the quirky science of everyday life. In
Quirkology, he navigates the backwaters of human behavior, discovering the telltale signs that give away a liar, the secret science behind speed dating and personal ads, and what a person's sense of humour reveals about the innermost workings of their mind - all along paying tribute to others who have carried out similarly weird and wonderful work.

5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

By
Liz Scully
on
06-13-18

Tools of Titans

The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers

By:
Tim Ferriss

Narrated by:
Ray Porter,
Kaleo Griffith,
Tim Ferriss,
and others

Length: 22 hrs and 41 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
10

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
8

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
8

The latest groundbreaking tome from Tim Ferriss, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of The 4-Hour Workweek. For the last two years, I've interviewed more than 200 world-class performers for my podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show. The guests range from super celebs (Jamie Foxx, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc.) and athletes (icons of powerlifting, gymnastics, surfing, etc.) to legendary Special Operations commanders and black-market biochemists. For most of my guests, it’s the first time they’ve agreed to a two-to-three-hour interview.

5 out of 5 stars

Tim Ferriss has done it again!

By
John DeWitt
on
06-04-20

So Good They Can't Ignore You

Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

By:
Cal Newport

Narrated by:
Dave Mallow

Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
4,297

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
3,727

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
3,727

In this eye-opening account, Cal Newport debunks the long-held belief that "follow your passion" is good advice. Not only is the cliché flawed - preexisting passions are rare and have little to do with how most people end up loving their work - but it can also be dangerous, leading to anxiety and chronic job hopping. After making his case against passion, Newport sets out on a quest to discover the reality of how people end up loving what they do.

4 out of 5 stars

Good Counter to all the "Passion" Career Lit

By
Erin
on
06-12-13

The War of Art

By:
Steven Pressfield

Narrated by:
Steven Pressfield

Length: 2 hrs and 29 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
3,324

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
2,798

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
2,772

Think of The War of Art as tough love...for yourself. Since 2002, The War of Art has inspired people around the world to defeat "resistance"; to recognize and knock down dream-blocking barriers and to silence the naysayers within us. Resistance kicks everyone's butt, and the desire to defeat it is equally as universal. The War of Art identifies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success.

3 out of 5 stars

Too much useless information

By
Anonymous User
on
11-18-19

The Creator's Code

The Six Essential Skills of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs

By:
Amy Wilkinson,
Amy Wilkinson (introduction)

Narrated by:
Cassandra Campbell

Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
408

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
349

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
349

Based on in-depth interviews with more than 200 leading entrepreneurs, a business executive and senior fellow at Harvard's Center for Public Leadership identifies the six essential disciplines needed to transform your ideas into real-world successes, whether you're an innovative manager or an aspiring entrepreneur.

2 out of 5 stars

Nothing groundbreaking

By
Rob Walling
on
03-08-15

I Will Teach You to Be Rich

No Guilt. No Excuses. No B.S. Just a 6-Week Program That Works (Second Edition)

By:
Ramit Sethi

Narrated by:
Ramit Sethi

Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
4,144

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
3,640

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
3,596

Buy as many lattes as you want. Spend extravagantly on the things you love. Live your rich life instead of tracking every last expense with Ramit Sethi’s simple, powerful, and effective six-week program for gaining control over your finances. This isn’t typical advice from a money expert. In this completely updated second edition, Ramit teaches you how to choose long-term investments and the right bank accounts. With his characteristic no-BS perspective, he shows how to squeeze every hidden benefit out of your credit cards.

2 out of 5 stars

NO, IF YOU ARE OLDER OR LOOKING BEYOND BASICS

By
NWgal
on
06-18-19

Never Split the Difference

Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It

By:
Chris Voss

Narrated by:
Michael Kramer

Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
42,383

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
37,474

Story

5 out of 5 stars
37,205

After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacle of his profession, he became the FBI's lead international kidnapping negotiator.
Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Voss' head.

5 out of 5 stars

Needs PDF companion file

By
John L. Pinkowski
on
03-07-17

Set for Life

Dominate Life, Money, and the American Dream

By:
Scott Trench

Narrated by:
Scott Trench

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
3,592

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
3,136

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
3,109

Are you tied to a nine-to-five workweek? Would you like to “retire” from wage-paying work within 10 years? Are you in your 20s or 30s and would like to be financially free - the sort of free that ensures you spend the best part of your day and week, and the best years of your life, doing what you want? Building wealth is always possible, even while working full-time, earning a median income, and making up for a negative net worth. Set for Life gives young professionals the fiscal confidence they need to conquer financial goals early in life.

5 out of 5 stars

Escape the matrix!

By
Amazon Customer
on
06-21-18

Publisher's Summary

A psychologist and best-selling author gives us a myth-busting response to the self-help movement, with tips and tricks to improve your life that come straight from the scientific community.

Richard Wiseman has been troubled by the realization that the self-help industry often promotes exercises that destroy motivation, damage relationships, and reduce creativity: the opposite of everything it promises. Now, in 59 Seconds, he fights back, bringing together the diverse scientific advice that can help you change your life in under a minute, and guides you toward becoming more decisive, more imaginative, more engaged, and altogether more happy.

From mood to memory, persuasion to procrastination, resilience to relationships, Wiseman outlines the research supporting the new science of rapid change and, with clarity and infectious enthusiasm, describes how these quirky, sometimes counterintuitive techniques can be effortlessly incorporated into your everyday life. Or, as he likes to say: Think a little, change a lot.

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Wrong format for this book

I'm a huge fan of Richard Wiseman but I made a mistake buying the audible version of this book. There are a large number of self assessment quizzes which are close to impossible to do while listening to the book and driving at the same time. Also, each chapter has a summary that is 59 seconds worth of actionable advice but you need to dog ear those pages and refer to them before going to work in the morning. Can't dog ear a page in an audible book, can you? It would be nice if the quizzes or the 59 second sections came in a PDF file - a technique used well by Tina Fey's "Bossypants". So this book loses one star for that.
Richard Wiseman is a very entertaining speaker. So it is very surprising that he doesn't narrate his own book. Wiseman's impish humor shows up only rarely in this book but even those rare moments are lost in another person's voice. So I take another star off because of that.
I will probably buy this book in paperback some time in the future, probably at a conference where he is speaking.

THE book for self-help seekers

I first heard of Richard Wiseman through the skeptical podcasts and blogs I frequent. And true to the skeptical point of view, this book is based on EVIDENCE. Indeed, evidence is front-and-centre right from the start. Every behavioural suggestion and piece of advice is backed by an experiment (a refreshing change from The Power of Now by Eckart Tolle). That's what separates this book from all the other self-help woo that's out there. Lots of books make claims that sound intuitive, but reality can often be very counter-intuitive. And this book has lots of examples. Here's one: praising children for their ACHIEVEMENTS can actually inhibit their progress by making them anxious about failure, while praising children for their EFFORT encourages them to work hard and challenge themselves. Hmmm!

Not bad

Not bad, not great. Lots of old stuff here presented in a rather structured way: 59 Second Exercises. I think that Malcolm Gladwell and Johah Lehrer do a much better job of articulating some of the background and original research of these concepts. I may return to the book again and perhaps there will be more but for now, it's just above average.

Instantly useful--bought in paper after listening

What made the experience of listening to 59 Seconds the most enjoyable?

This is full of usable nuggets. I listen while driving, and was constantly bookmarking.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I will consciously not buy another book read by this narrator. His inflection, tone, pace and rhythm is so pedantic and distracting that only the value of the words kept me listening.

There are many quizzes, and they were thoughtlessly read verbatim, i.e. Question one: and then the words, "Strongly disagree", "Disagree", "Neither agree or disagree", "Agree", "Strongly agree." It's possible no one could repetitively read that ten times in a row, chapter after chapter, without stimulating mindless waiting for the next section.

This should have been modified for ears.If you've already purchased this, push through. The content is worth it.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Exactly what to do, and why.

Any additional comments?

There are so many usable action items that I bought a hard copy for easy reference, and to loan. Last week I used something I learned to stimulate a new exercise for a workshop I teach every month, and for the first time, they got it! They got it! My cheeks were sore from grinning for three days! Brilliant, usable information.

Cowley out

I heard the author on NPR and was very interested in the book 59 seconds. Mr.Wiseman is very intelligent and highly entertaining speaker. I was hoping the audio book is narrated by him. Not so. When I listened to the book, Mr.Cowley put me to sleep at once with his monotonous and colorless voice. This is not how a book should be narrated. Bad choice of narrator! Buy paper edition instead.

I was blind but now I can see

This book has LOTS of interesting studies. That’s what a lot of these self improvement books are lacking everything is scientifically backed up. Although I think the application of these studies could be tweaked it’s good to be aware of them for the next book I read. 10/10 recommend to people who are into psychological studies.

a lot of bullet points

Although 59 seconds has an interesting topic, it misses the stated objective ' think a little, change a lot'. The book tries to come up with as much as possible myth-busting ideas about the human psychology, but lacks structure. Therefore, it doesn't appear to be much more than that the author just collected various ideas and put one after the other without logic or coherence.
I stopped listening after idea 15 and 2 hours gone...

What can you do in 59 seconds?

Richard Wiseman teaches us that we can do a lot for ourselves and for others in 59 seconds, and with lasting effects. My preferred one is writing 3 good things and be grateful about those. Well done Richard!